Updated December 12, 2022
RVs, or recreational vehicles, require water heaters to function. RV water heaters make it possible to use the plumbing in your mobile home by allowing hot water to circulate throughout your RV. With the help of an RV water heater, you can take hot showers and use the hot water from the sink for cleaning or cooking inside your mobile home.
To ensure that your equipment continues to operate effectively, you must be aware of the required maintenance procedures for your RV’s water heater.
If you’re new to living in an RV or getting ready to winterize your RV, you might be wondering whether you need to drain the water heater after every usage. You should always switch on your water heater once you return from an RV camping trip, even though it isn’t usually necessary. By doing this, you can prevent bacteria growth and a sulfur or rotten egg odor in your water heater.
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How often should I drain my RV water heater?
Each and every time your RV is used, you should empty the water heater. Avoiding draining the water heater in your RV risked leaving a sour stench behind. Inactive water that has not been drained may contain deadly bacteria that endanger humans and ruin the water tank in your RV.
The lifespan of the water heater in your RV, with good maintenance, may reach ten years. It is preferable to perform the required maintenance on your mobile home’s water heater than to put it off and end up having to shell out a sizeable sum for a replacement. Although there are many different sizes and types of RV water heaters, each one needs to be properly serviced and maintained.
How Do I Drain My RV Hot Water Heater?
It may sound easy to drain the water heater in your RV, and with little practice, it will be. However, the emptying of a water heater can also pose major risks and dangers. You must take some safety steps to ensure that the draining process is both efficient and secure.
Make sure to unplug anything connected to the water heater before you start draining your RV’s water heater. Additionally, make sure to stop the water pump. In order to prevent the tank from holding any hot water that could potentially burn you, the power and propane to the water heater should also be switched off.
It is crucial to cover any open gas valves or power switches to prevent the heater from turning on when the tank is empty. If this happens, your water heater might be seriously damaged or even catch fire.